Critic Reviews

Many football fans will miss John Madden's analysis and distinctive personality during the season, but his legacy lives on (and likely will forever) in the Madden NFL series. While this latest effort has its share of missteps, it's still the best Madden in recent memory. Gameplay is king, and Madden NFL 10 is plain and simple a hell of a lot of fun to play. This is a must-have for football fans.

The people that buy Madden already have their copy by now, but for anyone else that is still skeptical about this year’s offering, I would say that there is plenty here to warrant a purchase. The tagline for this year’s game is “If it’s in the NFL, it’s in Madden 10” they do a very good job of holding up to that and with all the other additions I don’t see where you can go wrong with buying Madden 10.

Madden NFL 10 has taken a huge step in the right direction this year. All the complaints I have about the game are fairly minor -- there isn't a huge glaring issue that I have come across yet. Every game feels different, nothing feels scripted, and you won't be bored by halftime. Last year, the more I played the game, the more I hated it. This year it is the complete opposite.

Bottom-line? As it was with all of the game's recent predecessors, there isn't a substantial need for casual fans to upgrade to Madden NFL 10. If you're content with the version you already have, you can get by without picking this one up on day one. Nevertheless, it is definitely an outstanding game - the best the series has ever seen. A great technical foundation has been laid with this year's outing, and true Madden fans will appreciate the package EA has put together. Likewise, if you've patiently waited for a true next-gen football title, now's the time to pull out your wallet.

Bottom-line? As it was with all of the game's recent predecessors, there isn't a substantial need for casual fans to upgrade to Madden NFL 10. If you're content with the version you already have, you can get by without picking this one up on day one. Nevertheless, it is definitely an outstanding game - the best the series has ever seen. A great technical foundation has been laid with this year's outing, and true Madden fans will appreciate the package EA has put together. Likewise, if you've patiently waited for a true next-gen football title, now's the time to pull out your wallet.

Madden 10 is a good game, and the three to four hours for 1000 points is quite enjoyable. For fans of the franchise, there is much to be explored solo or with friends, but for the rest of the crowd, this will be a one-day rental as you move on to a more challenging game.

EA should take a page out of FIFA's book here: focus on the game. Every iteration - pre-alpha onwards - sit down and play a full game, 15-minute quarters. If it feels 'right', then you're on the right path. If players are running through the sidelines when they celebrate, you should fix that. If Chris Collinsworth says the same thing about two separate players, you should fix that. If the depth-of-field focuses in and out randomly, you should fix that too. If you get the urge to plug in somebody who works on the ESPN or Monday Night Football staff, suppress it, and keep tweaking the game until it looks, plays, and feels like a real game of football. It may not look as good on the back of the box, but it'll look better on Metacritic, I promise, and help you make more of what's already a good game.